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Take Command for Windows
Version 1.02
Introduction and Installation Guide
Developed By
Rex Conn and Tom Rawson
Documentation By
Hardin Brothers, Tom Rawson, and Rex Conn
Published By
JP Software Inc.
P.O. Box 1470
East Arlington, MA 02174
U.S.A.
(617) 646-3975
fax (617) 646-0904
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We couldn't produce a product like Take Command without the
dedication and quality work of many people. Our thanks to:
JP Software Staff: Christine Alves, Mike Bessy, Michael
Hart, Ellen Stone, Misty White.
Beta Test Support: The sysops of CompuServe's CONSULT
forum.
Online Support: Brian Miller and Tess Heder of Channel 1
BBS; Don Watkins of CompuServe's IBMNET.
Beta Testers: We can't list all of our beta testers
here. A special thanks to all of you who helped make
Take Command elegant, reliable, and friendly!
The following tools are used in creating and maintaining Take
Command:
Compilers: Microsoft C, Microsoft Macro Assembler
Editors: Edix (Emerging Technology), Brief
(Solution Systems)
Version Control: PVCS (Intersolv)
Documentation: Microsoft Word for Windows with Adobe
Type Manager
Copyright 1995, JP Software Inc., All Rights Reserved. "Take
Command," "4OS2," "JP Software," and the JP Software logo and
product logos are trademarks and "4DOS" is a registered
trademark of JP Software Inc. Other product and company names
are trademarks of their respective owners.
8-95
Contents
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents
Introduction...............................................1
How to Use This Manual.................................2
Customer Service and Technical Support.................3
Chapter 1 / Installation...................................5
Installing Take Command................................5
Changes Made During Installation.......................6
Manual Installation....................................6
Uninstalling Take Command..............................8
Chapter 2 / Configuration................................ 11 .
Creating and Configuring Take Command Items...........11
Take Command Startup Options..........................12
Configuring Take Command..............................13
TCSTART, TCEXIT, and Startup Commands.................14
Chapter 3 / Using Take Command............................17
Using a Windows Command Line..........................17
Take Command and Windows..............................18
Take Command and Windows Colors...................19
Installing Take Command as the Windows Shell......20
Take Command and DOS Applications.....................20
Starting DOS Applications.........................21
Caveman Default...................................23
Separate Window Default...........................25
Caveman...........................................26
Take Command, DOS, and 4DOS...........................28
Using 4DOS Batch Files and Aliases................30
Index.....................................................33
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide i
INTRODUCTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
Welcome, and thanks for purchasing Take Command!
We developed Take Command to bring the power and convenience of our
popular 4DOS and 4OS2 programs to Windows users. Whether you are a
computer novice or an experienced user, Take Command will help you
get the most out of your Windows system.
You're probably already familiar with graphical applications
running under Windows, and with the command line, but you may not
be used to seeing them combined in one product. Most Windows
applications offer limited command-line capability at best, and
most command-line utilities aren't designed for a graphical
environment like Windows.
We designed Take Command to give you the best of both worlds.
You'll probably find it most useful when you need to perform tasks
like managing your hard disk, scripting a series of steps with an
alias or batch file, or starting applications under Windows. There
are graphical utilities that perform some of these tasks, but often
you may find it more convenient or productive to perform them from
the command line. Take Command can use fewer resources than
starting a DOS session to run 4DOS or COMMAND.COM for these tasks,
and unlike a DOS session, it looks and feels like the other Windows
programs you use.
Take Command also offers a host of features that couldn't exist at
all in a DOS command-line utility. For example you can pop up
simple dialogs from a batch file, pass keystrokes to Windows
applications, use a Windows-based dialog to find files or text on
any of your disks, or configure Take Command with dialogs instead
of editing an .INI file.
If you want full command-line control of Windows you can also use
Take Command as your Windows shell, replacing Program Manager.
When you use Take Command this way you can turn Windows into a
completely command-based environment, and eliminate the use of
graphical tools to start applications and manage files. This
approach isn't for everyone, but if it's the way you like to work
you'll find that Take Command is up to the task.
If you are familiar with the traditional command prompt, or with
4DOS, 4OS2, or 4DOS for Windows NT, you won't have to change your
computing habits or unlearn anything to use Take Command. If you
know how to use commands to display a directory, copy a file, or
start an application program, you already know how to use Take
Command. And if you are a 4DOS or 4OS2 user, you already know how
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 1
INTRODUCTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
to use most of the advanced features that we have built into Take
Command. You can even use many of your 4DOS or 4OS2 batch files
with Take Command (see page 30 or the online help for tips about
making batch files work properly in both environments).
Once you have Take Command installed, you can learn its new
features at your own pace. Relax, enjoy Take Command's power, and
browse through the manuals occasionally. Press the F1 key whenever
you need help. Take Command will soon become an essential part of
your computer, and you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.
We are constantly working to improve Take Command. If you have
suggestions for features or commands that we should include in the
next version, or any other way we could improve our product, please
let us know. Many of the features in Take Command were suggested
by our users. We can't promise to include every suggestion, but we
really do appreciate and pay attention to your comments.
How to Use This Manual
This manual is only one part of the documentation that you
will need for Take Command. It introduces the product and
will help you install it correctly on your computer. It will
also help you understand some of the terms and concepts that
you will need to know to get the most from Take Command.
If you are a 4DOS or 4OS2 user, or you use the Windows "MS-DOS
Prompt" icon to do command-line work under Windows, be sure to
read Chapter 3 before using Take Command. It will give you a
feel for some of the differences between a character-mode
command processor and a Windows-based one.
Take Command includes complete online help for all of its
built-in commands. The online help provides information about
the commands and features of Take Command in an electronic
form which you can access quickly. See page 15 for more
details about using the online help.
The final part of our documentation is the separate Reference
Manual for the Windows and Windows NT versions of Take
Command. It contains all of the information in the online
help, in printed form. The Reference Manual is sometimes sold
separately from Take Command, so you may not find it in your
package. If that's the case, use this manual to get started,
and use the online help for reference information.
You should start with this introductory manual to install Take
Command on your system. Once you have successfully installed
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 2
INTRODUCTION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Take Command, you can move back and forth between this manual
and the online help and Reference Manual.
For the sake of clarity, we have chosen not to indicate each
of the dozens of places in this manual where you can refer to
the Reference Manual or online help for additional
information. If you see a reference here to a command, the
initialization file TCMD.INI, or any Take Command feature, you
can be sure that detailed information on that topic is
available in the reference material.
Files distributed with Take Command cover important additional
information beyond what's included in the manuals. README.DOC
contains general notes, highlights of the latest release, and
brief installation instructions for those installing from a
downloaded copy, and UPDATxx.DOC contains detailed information
for users with older versions on what has changed in the
latest release ("xx" is the version number).
You will likely find some parts of the documentation too
simple or too technical for your tastes. Unless you are
convinced that one of those sections holds just the
information you need for a specific task, feel free to skip to
the next part of the manual that is more to your liking. You
can use almost every feature of Take Command without having to
worry about other features or commands.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Technical support is available via public electronic support
conferences, private electronic mail, telephone, fax, and
mail. For complete details, including a listing of electronic
support conferences, see the Support topic in the online help,
or your Reference Manual.
Customer service is always available through the telephone and
fax numbers listed on the title page of this manual. See your
Reference Manual or the online help for electronic mail
addresses for our Sales and Customer Service departments.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 3
CHAPTER 1 / INSTALLATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 1 / INSTALLATION
Installing Take Command
To install Take Command you must run the INSTALL program on
your Take Command distribution disk. INSTALL will copy the
files from the diskette to your hard disk, create a Windows
icon to run Take Command, and make any other changes necessary
for Take Command to run properly on your system.
If you're installing a downloaded copy you will not have an
INSTALL program. Instead, use the appropriate decompression
program (for example, PKUNZIP) to extract the files from your
download into a new directory. Then follow the instructions
on page 6 to complete your installation. If you are updating
from a previous version, check the README.DOC file for update
instructions.
To begin the installation process, put the Take Command
distribution diskette in drive A. (You can use drive B if you
prefer, in which case you should substitute "b" for "a" in the
instructions below.) Use the Program Manager's File Run
option to enter the command:
a:install
Then press the Enter key.
Once the installation program has started, just follow the
instructions on the screen to install Take Command on your
system. Use Express Installation for a quick and simple
installation with default settings, or use Custom Installation
for finer control over the installation process.
You can exit from the installation program at any time by
pressing Esc, then pressing "Y" in response to the next
prompt.
The Take Command files are contained in a special library file
on the distribution diskette. You cannot simply copy the
files from the diskette onto your system. You must use
INSTALL to extract and decompress the Take Command files even
if you want to perform a manual installation (see below), or
if you need to replace a damaged Take Command file on your
hard disk.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 5
CHAPTER 1 / INSTALLATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
If you also have our DOS command processor, 4DOS, do not
install Take Command in the same directory as 4DOS. Some file
names (for example README.DOC) are the same in both products,
and the files should be kept separate to avoid confusion.
Changes Made During Installation
Some Windows installation programs make changes to your system
which are difficult to find or modify. While the Take Command
installation program makes few such changes, we know you may
feel more comfortable knowing exactly what is done to your
system and Windows configuration when you install Take
Command.
Take Command's installation program takes the following steps.
Step (1) is always performed once you select a drive and
directory. Express Installation selects steps (2) through (5)
automatically, and skips step (6). Custom Installation asks
you to confirm steps (2) through (6) individually.
1)Copy all Take Command files to a hard disk directory
of your choice.
2)Brand your copy of Take Command with your name and
serial number.
3)Copy the CTL3DV2.DLL file to the \WINDOWS directory,
unless a newer version is already present in that
directory.
4)Create a Program Manager group for Take Command, and
add items to that group for Take Command itself and
for the online documentation.
5)Add a line to SYSTEM.INI to load CAVEMAN.386 when
Windows starts.
6)Add a line to SYSTEM.INI to load Take Command as your
Windows shell when Windows starts.
Take Command's automated installation program does not modify
WIN.INI, CONFIG.SYS, or AUTOEXEC.BAT.
Manual Installation
There is little difference between manual and automated
installation for Take Command. The Custom Installation option
will query you before any files are copied or existing files
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 6
CHAPTER 1 / INSTALLATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
are deleted or modified, so there is no real advantage to
performing these steps manually. However if you prefer a
manual installation, you can extract the Take Command files
using the Custom Installation option, then follow the
instructions below.
You must use manual installation if you have a downloaded copy
of Take Command (for downloaded copies, see the README.DOC
file for any installation or update instructions specific to
the version you downloaded),
To install Take Command manually, first extract the Take
Command files to a directory on your hard disk. We recommend
that you use a new directory for Take Command. It can be on
any hard disk drive, and you can use any valid directory name.
After the files are extracted, use the Esc key to exit from
the installation program.
Next, install CTL3DV2.DLL. CTL3DV2 is a Microsoft library
which gives a 3-dimensional appearance to some elements of the
Windows display for programs (like Take Command) that use it.
Use File Manager or a Windows DOS session to install
CTL3DV2.DLL as follows:
* Check the date and time on the copy of CTL3DV2.DLL
that came with Take Command. Then check your
\WINDOWS directory for the same file.
* If the version that came with Take Command is newer
than the version in \WINDOWS, or if the file does not
exist at all in \WINDOWS\, then copy the newer version
from the Take Command directory to the \WINDOWS
directory. If the version in the \WINDOWS directory
is newer, leave it as-is.
* Delete the CTL3DV2.DLL file from the Take Command
directory. This ensures that you do not have multiple
copies of CTL3DV2 on your system. CTL3DV2 only works
properly if there is a single copy in the
\WINDOWS directory; if you have more than one copy you
will receive an error when Take Command starts.
Finally, use the following steps to create a Take Command item
in the Program Manager's Main group (you can use a different
group or create a new group if you prefer):
* Select the "Main" group.
* Select the Program Manager "File" menu.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 7
CHAPTER 1 / INSTALLATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* Select "New."
* Select "Program item."
* Enter "Take Command," or any other title you desire,
in the Description field.
* Enter the full path and name for TCMD.EXE in the
Command Line field (for example, C:\TCMD10\TCMD.EXE).
* Enter the directory in which you want the Take Command
window to start (if any) in the Working Directory
field.
* Click on "OK" to accept the entry.
Take Command reads its configuration information from a file
named TCMD.INI, normally stored in the Take Command directory.
You can modify the first section of this file, which begins
with [TakeCommand], to configure Take Command to meet your
preferences; see page 13 for details.
If you want to install Caveman in order to run DOS programs
inside your Take Command window, see page 26 for information
on modifying SYSTEM.INI manually.
If you want to use Take Command as your Windows shell (rather
than Program Manager or another shell), see page 20 for
instructions.
Uninstalling Take Command
We don't expect you to have trouble using Take Command, but we
know some people feel more comfortable knowing how to
uninstall a product as well as install it. Or, you may need
to remove Take Command from one system to move it to another
system.
To remove Take Command, just insert the distribution diskette,
start the INSTALL program as described on page 5, and select
the Uninstall Take Command option. Uninstall will offer you
several options which "undo" the corresponding steps in the
installation procedure. Complete Uninstall will take all of
the other steps automatically, and remove Take Command
entirely from your system.
The Uninstall option will attempt to reverse the changes maded
uring installation. However if you have removed files,
changed group or item names, or otherwise modified your system
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 8
CHAPTER 1 / INSTALLATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
configuration then the program may not be able to complete all
of the steps automatically or successfully. In this case you
will need to perform some of them manually.
To uninstall Take Command manually, first use Notepad to edit
SYSTEM.INI. In the [Boot] section, remove any SHELL= line for
TCMD.EXE and replace it with a line to load Program Manager or
another shell of your choice. Also look for a DEVICE= line
for CAVEMAN.386 in the [386Enh] section, and remove it. These
changes will take effect the next time you restart Windows.
Next, delete CTL3DV2.DLL from the \WINDOWS directory if you are
certain it is not in use by other applications (because CTL3DV2
is used fairly widely, in most cases you should not delete it).
If you were using Take Command as your Windows shell there will
be a copy of TC16DLL.DLL in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory; you
can delete it as well.
Use Program Manager (or an alternate shell if you use one) to
remove any Take Command groups and / or items.
Finally, check the Take Command directory for any files you
placed there that you want to save. Use File Manager or a DOS
session to delete the remaining files from the Take Command
directory, and remove the directory.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 9
CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
This chapter explains how you can tune Take Command to make it as
efficient and as useful as possible in your computing environment.
If Take Command works the way you want it to after installation,
you can skip this chapter. You may, however, want to skim this
material to see what options are available.
This chapter explains how to set up Take Command items in your
Windows groups, using the Take Command startup command line and
startup batch files, and the basics of configuring Take Command.
For more details on all of these topics, including complete
reference information on the configuration options and TCMD.INI,
see your Reference Manual or online help.
Creating and Configuring Take Command Items
You will typically start Take Command from an item in one of
the Program Manager groups on your Windows desktop, or from a
similar item in your Windows shell (if you don't use Program
Manager). Usually a single item is sufficient, but if you
wish you can create multiple items to start Take Command in
different modes, with different startup commands or options,
or to run different batch files or other commands. You can
use these items to run commonly-used commands and batch files
directly from the Windows desktop.
Each item or icon represents a different Take Command window.
Use the Properties screen for the item to set any necessary
command line parameters such as a command to be executed, any
desired switches, or the name and path for TCMD.INI. More
information on command line switches and options for Take
Command is included later in this section.
For general information on creating and configuring Program
Manager items, see your Windows documentation. If you are
using the Windows Program Manager to configure a Take Command
item, use the New selection on the File menu to create a new
item (see page 6 of this manual for a detailed example). Use
the Properties selection on the File menu to adjust the
configuration of an existing item. If you are using an
alternate shell rather than Program Manager, use the
appropriate configuration method for your shell.
When you configure a Take Command item, place the full path
and name for TCMD.EXE in the Command Line field, and put any
startup options that you want passed to Take Command (e.g.,
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 11
CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
the name of a startup batch file) after the TCMD.EXE file
name. For example:
Command Line: C:\TCMD10\TCMD.EXE C:\GO.BAT
Working directory: C:\
You do not need to use the Change Icon button, because
TCMD.EXE already contains an icon.
When Take Command starts it automatically runs the optional
TCSTART batch file (see page 14). You can use this file to
load aliases and environment variables and otherwise
initialize Take Command.
You can also place the name of a batch file, internal or
external command, or alias at the end of the Command Line
field for any item (as shown in the example above). The batch
file, command, or alias will be executed after TCSTART but
before the first prompt is displayed.
Take Command Startup Options
Like DOS programs, each Windows program has a command line
which can be used to pass information to the program when it
starts. The command line is entered in the Command Line field
for each item in a Program Manager group (or each item defined
under another Windows shell), and consists of the name of the
program to execute, followed by any startup options.
The Take Command startup command line does not need to contain
any information. When invoked with an empty command line,
Take Command will configure itself from the TCMD.INI file (see
page 13), run TCSTART (see page 14), and then display a prompt
and wait for you to type a command. However, you may add
information to the startup command line that will affect the
way Take Command operates.
Take Command recognizes three optional fields on the command
line. If you use more than one of these fields, their order
is important. The syntax for the command line is:
[@d:\path\inifile] [//iniline]... [[/C] command]
In the descriptions below, d: means a drive letter and \path
means a subdirectory name.
@d:\path\inifile: This option sets the path and name of
the TCMD.INI file. You do not need this option if you
aren't using a TCMD.INI file, or if the file is named
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 12
CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TCMD.INI and is stored either in the same directory as
TCMD.EXE or in the Windows directory. This option is
most useful if you want to start a Take Command window
with a specific and unique .INI file.
//iniline: This option tells Take Command to treat the
text appearing between the // and the next space or tab
as a TCMD.INI directive. The directive should be in the
same format as a line in the [TakeCommand] section of
TCMD.INI, but it may not contain spaces, tabs, or
comments. This option overrides any corresponding
directive in your TCMD.INI file. It is a convenient way
to send Take Command one or two simple directives without
modifying or creating a new TCMD.INI file.
[/C] command: This option tells Take Command to run a
command when it starts. The command will be run after
TCSTART has been executed and before any command prompt
is displayed. It can be any valid internal or external
command, batch file, or alias; you may include multiple
commands by using the command separator. All other
startup options must be placed before the command,
because Take Command will treat characters after the
command as part of the command and not as additional
startup options.
When the command is preceded by a /C, Take Command will
execute the command and then exit and return to the
parent program or the Windows desktop without displaying
a prompt.
See page 15 for details on using the command option to
run a startup batch file.
Configuring Take Command
Take Command's configuration is controlled through a file of
initialization information called TCMD.INI. This file is
created during installation, and is stored in the same
directory as TCMD.EXE. (You can move TCMD.INI to the Windows
directory if you wish; Take Command will find it in either
location.)
Take Command reads TCMD.INI each time it starts, and
configures itself accordingly.
Many of the TCMD.INI options can be set directly from within
Take Command using the configuration dialogs, which are
accessible from the Configure Take Command selection on the
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 13
CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Options menu. There are several pages of options, selectable
from the list box on the left side of the dialog.
When you use the configuration dialogs, be sure to click the
Save button to save your changes in TCMD.INI. The OK button
will save the configuration changes for the current session,
but will not record them in TCMD.INI for use in future
sessions. The help text available from the Help button
explains which specific TCMD.INI directive is set by each item
in the dialog.
TCMD.INI is divided into sections like other Windows .INI
files. Each section begins with a section name in square
brackets, for example:
[Fonts]
The options you can set in TCMD.INI are all in the
[TakeCommand] section, which is normally the first one in the
file. This is the section modified by the configuration
dialogs. Take Command maintains all other sections of
TCMD.INI itself; you should not modify them unless you are
instructed to do so by our support personnel.
See the Reference Manual or the TCMD.INI topic in the online
help for complete details on the format and meaning of the
directives used in the [TakeCommand] section of TCMD.INI.
Advanced Directives and Key Mapping Directives must be entered
manually (see below). Most other directives are accessible
from corresponding items in the configuration dialogs.
If you prefer manual editing, or you want to enter a directive
which cannot be set from the configuration dialogs, you can
edit TCMD.INI with Windows Notepad or any similar ASCII text
editor. Be sure to edit only the [TakeCommand] section.
Take Command will not automatically re-read TCMD.INI when you
edit it manually. For manual changes to take effect, you must
exit Take Command and restart it.
TCSTART, TCEXIT, and Startup Commands
Take Command executes two batch files automatically: TCSTART
is run whenever Take Command starts, and TCEXIT is run
whenever Take Command exits. TCSTART and TCEXIT can be .BAT
or .BTM files. TCSTART gives you a convenient way to load
aliases and environment variables, and otherwise initialize
Take Command.
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 14
CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
If Take Command is started with the [/C] command option (see
page 12), TCSTART is executed before the command.
See the online help or your Reference Manual for more
information on TCSTART and TCEXIT.
To run a specific startup batch file or other command when a
particular Take Command item is started, include the batch
file or command name (with a path, if the file is not in the
startup directory) as the last item in the Command Line field.
The batch file or command will be executed after any TCSTART
file but before the first prompt is displayed.
You can use this capability to run a specific batch file or
command for a particular item (as opposed to TCSTART, which is
run every time Take Command starts). When you set up a batch
file or command to run in this way you are using the command
startup option (see page 12).
For example, to run C:\STARTUP.BAT when the item starts:
Command Line: C:\TCMD\TCMD.EXE STARTUP.BAT
Working directory: C:\
To execute an internal or external command, an alias, or a
batch file and then exit (return to the desktop) when it is
done, place /C command (rather than just command) as the last
item in the Parameters field. For example:
Command Line: D:\TCMD\TCMD.EXE /C COMFILES.BTM
Working directory: C:\
Take Command Help
Complete online help for all Take Command commands and
features is provided with your copy of Take Command. Help is
invoked with the HELP command, the F1 key, or the Help menu on
the menu bar.
When you start the help system, Take Command opens a new
window to run the standard Windows help program. The help
program displays the help text and lets you browse through it.
You can keep the help window on the screen and return to the
Take Command window, switching between the two as needed.
This may be useful when you are writing a batch file, working
on a complex command, or experimenting with Take Command.
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CHAPTER 2 / CONFIGURATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In order for the Take Command help system to work properly,
the help file, TCMD.HLP, must be in the same directory as
TCMD.EXE.
The Take Command installation program sets up a separate item
for Take Command help so that you can load the help file
directly. To create a similar item manually, use a command
line like this:
Command Line: WINHELP C:\TCMD10\TCMD.HLP
(Change the drive and path to reflect the location of Take
Command on your system.)
Take Command also supports the /? switch to display help for
any command. Using /? will display help for the command using
the Windows help system. For example, to obtain help on copy
you could use either of these commands:
c:\> help copy
c:\> copy /?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 16
CHAPTER 3 / Using Take Command
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 3 / Using Take Command
Take Command works like any other Windows application or utility,
and most of the time you won't need to make any special adjustments
for it. However, as you learn to use Take Command you may want to
understand in more detail how it interacts with Windows, with
Windows applications, and with DOS applications.
The information in this chapter gives you an overview of these
topics; most are covered in more detail in the Reference Manual or
online help. This chapter also discusses using 4DOS batch files
and aliases under Take Command.
Using a Windows Command Line
Take Command is a new environment that lets you perform tasks
easily under Windows. You can use it to execute commands,
start applications, and perform other work at the command
line.
In the past you may have accomplished some of these tasks by
starting a Windows session to run 4DOS, JP Software's
replacement command processor for DOS. Or you may have used
an "MS-DOS Prompt" session to run the default DOS command
processor (COMMAND.COM) under Windows.
In either case -- and especially if you are an experienced
user of 4DOS -- you'll find plenty of familiar features in
Take Command. You'll also find a lot that's new and
different.
While Take Command includes most of the command-line, batch
file, and other capabilities provided by 4DOS, and goes well
beyond those provided by COMMAND.COM, the Windows environment
places some limitations on how Take Command operates.
These limitations mostly affect the use of external programs,
especially DOS programs. This topic is covered in detail
beginning on page 20. You can use Take Command without going
over these details; however you should read through them
before changing Take Command's default options for starting
DOS programs (for example, those in the VM Setup dialog on the
Options menu).
There are some other minor differences between using Take
Command and using a 4DOS (or COMMAND.COM) session under
Windows (for example, some keystrokes are interpreted
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differently to conform more closely to Windows conventions).
There are also some considerations when running batch files or
4DOS aliases designed to work under DOS in a Windows program
like Take Command. All of these differences are covered in
more detail beginning on page 28.
Take Command also offers a wide range of new Windows-related
features which are not available in 4DOS or COMMAND.COM
sessions, including:
* A built-in scrollback buffer that lets you look back
through the output from past commands.
* A standard Windows menu bar for access to many
commonly-used Take Command features.
* A status bar showing memory and resource usage.
* A customizable tool bar that gives you quick access to
commands and applications.
* Windows dialogs (accessible from the Take Command
Configuration and Utilities menus), for editing
environment variables, aliases, file descriptions, and
startup parameters.
* Direct access to Program Manager groups through the
Apps menu.
* High-speed, dialog-based file and text search (see
"Find Files / Text" on the Utilities menu). The new
FFIND command gives you the same capabilities at the
Take Command prompt.
* Commands like ACTIVATE, MSGBOX, and QUERYBOX that
allow you to use Windows features and control Windows
applications from your batch files.
* A new technology, called "Caveman," which you can use
to run many DOS utilities in the Take Command window
(see page 20 for details).
Take Command and Windows
Take Command supports several Windows features which enhance
the way it works with other Windows applications. The
information below covers most of these features very briefly;
for complete details, see the Reference Manual or the topics
under the Take Command and Windows heading in the online help.
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* You can use the Windows clipboard to copy text onto
the command line, or to transfer text from Take
Command to another application.
* Take Command will use Windows' File Associations like
Executable Extensions, to associate data files with
applications.
* Take Command can run either as a Windows utility, or
as a Windows shell, replacing Program Manager (see
below for more details). It can also communicate with
your Windows shell to determine what groups and
applications to list on the Apps menu.
* You can use the Windows Drag and Drop feature to
insert file names from other applications onto the
command line.
* Take Command can send messages to other Windows
applications using Dynamic Date Exchange (DDE). You
can also use DDE to send commands to Take Command from
other applications.
Take Command offers several methods for starting Windows
applications, some of which go beyond what you may be used to
when running programs from the DOS command line. The search
sequence for applications is also slightly different from DOS,
as is the way the environment is passed to applications. For
complete details, see Starting Windows Applications in the
online help.
Take Command and Windows Colors
You may occasionally find it convenient to run more than one
copy of Take Command at a time. If you do, and you change the
background color in one Take Command window, the same color
change will appear in the background of other Take Command
windows as they become visible and are repainted on the
screen.
This behavior is due to the internal design of Windows (and
cannot be changed without significantly increasing the
resources used by each Take Command session). If you run
multiple copies of Take Command at the same time, we recommend
that you use the same background color for all copies to avoid
unwanted visual effects.
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Installing Take Command as the Windows Shell
For complete command-line control of Windows you can install
Take Command as your Windows shell. When Windows starts it
will load Take Command rather than Program Manager or any
other shell. You can then start applications and perform any
other work you desire from the command line.
To install Take Command as the shell, first copy the
TC16DLL.DLL file in your Take Command directory to your
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory (otherwise Windows will not be able
to find this file at startup).
Next use SysEdit, Notepad, or another ASCII file editor to
edit the SYSTEM.INI file (in your \WINDOWS directory). In the
[Boot] section of SYSTEM.INI find the SHELL= line. Add a
semicolon at the start of the old line to turn it into a
comment (this preserves the old setting if you want to return
to it in the future). Then add the following new SHELL= line:
shell=d:\path\tcmd.exe
Substitute the drive and path of TCMD.EXE on your system for
"d:\path" in the line above. You can add any Take Command
startup options (see page 12) to the shell line. Save
SYSTEM.INI, close your editor, and then restart Windows for
the line to take effect.
More detailed technical information on using Take Command as
your Windows shell is in the Take Command and Windows Shells
topic in the online help.
Take Command and DOS Applications
This section explains in detail how Take Command works with
your DOS applications. You can use Take Command without going
over these details; however you should read through them
before changing Take Command's default options for starting
DOS programs (for example, those in the VM Setup dialog on the
Options menu).
When you start an external program under Windows it normally
runs in its own window, which opens when the program starts
and closes when it exits. You can also start a DOS program
inside a 4DOS or "MS-DOS Prompt" session, and the program will
run within that session.
In its default configuration Take Command conforms to these
norms. Whether you start a DOS or Windows program, the
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program will be assigned its own window, and that window will
close when the program exits. When a DOS program is started
in this way Take Command will wait for the program to exit
before continuing, just as 4DOS would.
However this approach does not work well for command-line
programs which display their output to the screen and then
exit. As soon as the program exits, its window closes and the
output is lost!
To make it easier to use this type of program from within
Windows, Take Command includes a new technology, called
"Caveman". Caveman allows DOS programs to run within the Take
Command window.
Due to limitations in the way DOS programs can operate under
Windows, the techniques used by Caveman do not work well with
all programs. This section tells you how to set up your
system to make the best use of Take Command and Caveman for
running DOS applications.
Starting DOS Applications
One way to run a DOS application under Take Command is to
start it inside the Take Command window, using Caveman. This
offers a quick, easy, and seamless way to run DOS utilities
without starting a separate window. However, it works only
for simple DOS utilities which perform standard input and
output. It generally cannot be used for major DOS
applications like word processors, spreadsheets, and
databases, and its performance and compatibility will be
limited with other applications.
Caveman is normally installed when you install Take Command.
It runs only in Windows' 386 Enhanced mode; if you start
Windows in Standard mode, you cannot use Caveman (you can
determine the mode in which Windows was started from the
Program Manager's Help / About menu selection). For more
information on Caveman, including manual installation
instructions and a more detailed description of how Caveman
works, see page 26.
The second way to run a DOS program under Take Command is to
start it in a separate DOS window. This is the same method
used by Program Manager's File / Run menu option, and the
similar options offered by other Windows shells. Any DOS
application can be run using this method, but it may not work
well for command-line utilities because the window is likely
to close before you have a chance to read the output.
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Each method will be appropriate for some DOS applications on
your system, but not useful or even impossible to use for
others. Unfortunately, Take Command cannot determine
automatically which method is best for any given application.
Therefore, you must select the best default method for the
particular mix of DOS programs you run from within Take
Command. You can then use .PIF files, aliases or other Take
Command or Windows features to force the use of the other
method for the specific applications that require it.
If you want to see how these two methods work, first make sure
Caveman is installed. Look at the VM Setup choice on the
Options menu. If this choice is "grayed out" and cannot be
selected then Caveman is not installed, or you did not start
Windows in 386 Enhanced mode. If Caveman is not installed,
install it and restart Windows (see page 26 for manual
installation instructions).
To try a DOS program with and without Caveman, start it with
the START command. Use the /CM switch to start the program
under Caveman, or leave the switch off to start the program in
a separate window. For example:
c:\> start /cm pkunzip Uses Caveman
c:\> start pkunzip Uses a separate window
(There are easier ways to start DOS programs directly from the
Take Command prompt, but this is the best method to use while
you're experimenting.)
When you start a program under Caveman its output will appear
in the Take Command window. When you start the same program
in a separate window, its output will appear in that window.
In either case, the program will return to the Take Command
prompt when it's finished.
There's no point in starting your word processor, spreadsheet,
or communications program under Caveman -- they almost
certainly won't work, and if they do they'll be pretty slow.
Use the technique described above to experiment with simple
DOS programs like PKUNZIP, XCOPY, or other similar utilities.
See page 26 for more details on the kinds of applications
which are likely to work properly under Caveman.
Caveman does its best to detect incompatible applications (for
example, those that attempt to manipulate the keyboard
hardware, or use unusual video modes) and terminate them
gracefully. If a compatibility problem is detected, you'll
see a dialog box explaining that the program cannot work
properly under Caveman. Click Cancel to terminate the program
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at this point, or Restart to restart it in a separate window.
Click Always use Separate Window to request that the
application be "marked" as incompatible with Caveman, so that
it will be run in a separate window in the future (the "mark"
is stored in TCMD.INI; your application itself is not
affected).
Once you have worked with Caveman a bit you can select a
default method for starting DOS applications. The method you
select will be used automatically when you type the name of a
DOS program at the command line or in a batch file. You can
then use aliases, .PIF files, or the START command to start
specific applications using a method other than the default.
For complete details, see Caveman Default (below) and Separate
Window Default (page 25).
To select the default method, open the VM Setup dialog,
accessible from the Options menu. Check the "Run DOS Apps in
Caveman" checkbox if you want DOS programs to run under
Caveman by default. Uncheck the box if you want DOS programs
to run in a separate window by default.
Caveman Default
Under this method, Take Command assumes that DOS applications
started from the command line or a batch file should be run
under Caveman (for example, if Caveman is the default and you
enter the FORMAT command, Take Command will run the FORMAT
program under Caveman).
You must then create a .PIF file for each application you
don't want run under Caveman. When you start a DOS
application and Take Command finds the corresponding .PIF
file, it will ignore Caveman and run the program in a separate
window.
Use this method if you typically run a small number of major
DOS applications from Windows, and most of the other DOS
programs you want to start from the Take Command prompt fall
into the "simple utilities" category.
Simple utilities are programs like PKZIP, XCOPY, FORMAT, and
other programs which display basic "teletype-style" scrolling
output, without significant use of popup windows, full-screen
displays, or direct access to your system's hardware devices.
To set up this method, open the VM Setup dialog (accessible
from the Options menu), check the "Run DOS Apps in Caveman"
box, and click on the Save as Defaults button.
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Next, establish a .PIF file for each of your major DOS
applications. You can do this with the Windows PIF editor.
To start the PIF editor from the Take Command prompt, change
to the Windows directory and enter the command PIFEDIT
followed by the application name. For example:
c:\> cd windows
c:\windows> pifedit wp
This will create a .PIF file with the same name as the DOS
application program. You should enter the appropriate path,
filename, working directory, and other parameters from within
the PIF editor, then save the file. See your Windows
documentation for additional details on PIF files and PIFEDIT.
You may find that you already have some of the .PIF files you
need, because it is not unusual to use them for major DOS
applications even when Take Command and Caveman are not
running. If a .PIF file already exists and the corresponding
application runs properly, you don't need to make any changes
to the file -- it will work as-is with Take Command.
If you try to start a program under Caveman and a separate
window is started instead, it's probably because you already
have a .PIF file defined for that program. You can remove the
.PIF file if you wish, but in many cases programs that already
have a .PIF file must be started with that .PIF file in order
to work properly. Therefore it's probably best to leave
existing .PIF files alone unless you know why they were
created and are confident that you can remove them without
causing problems.
Once the .PIF files are set up, you can simply type the name
of a DOS application at the Take Command prompt. The major
applications for which you have defined .PIF files will be run
in separate windows, and your other DOS utilities will run
inside the Take Command window, using Caveman.
If you don't want to use .PIF files, you can accomplish the
same thing using aliases. Simply define an alias for each
major DOS application, using the START command to start the
application. For example:
alias wp start d:\wp60\wp.exe
Like a .PIF file, the use of START will force Take Command to
ignore Caveman and start the application in a separate window.
The benefit of the "Caveman Default" approach is that you can
run DOS utilities right in the Take Command window without any
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special commands or aliases to set up. All you have to do is
create a few .PIF files or aliases for your major DOS
applications.
The drawback to this approach is that you may try to start an
application which won't work well under Caveman, but for which
you have neglected to define a .PIF file or alias. The fact
that the Take Command prompt looks so much like a 4DOS or
COMMAND.COM "DOS prompt" can make it easy to make this error.
This isn't likely to cause too much trouble - you can always
terminate an application if you make a mistake, and then set
up a .PIF file or alias for it - but you'll need to be aware
of the possibility as you use Take Command.
Separate Window Default
Under this method, Take Command assumes that DOS applications
should be run in a separate window (for example, if a separate
window is the default and you enter the FORMAT command, Take
Command will ignore Caveman and run the FORMAT program in its
own window). You must then create an alias for each
application you do want to run under Caveman.
Use this method if you typically run many significant DOS
applications from Windows, and only a few other simple
utilities.
To set up this method, open the VM Setup dialog (accessible
from the Options menu), remove any check mark in the "Run DOS
Apps in Caveman" box, and click on the Save as Defaults
button.
Next, create an alias for each of the DOS utilities you want
to run under Caveman. Use the START /CM command to run the
program under Caveman. For example:
alias pkunzip start /cm c:\util\pkunzip.exe
This alias will force Take Command to run the program under
Caveman. You must create a separate alias for each utility
you want to run under Caveman (unless you want to type the
START /CM command each time you run the program).
The benefit of the "Separate Window Default" approach is that
you can run any DOS application from the command line or a
batch file, without thinking about whether it is the type of
application that works well with Caveman.
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The drawback to this approach is that you must explicitly
create an alias for each utility you want to run under
Caveman. This can mean creating a large number of aliases,
and you will lose the benefits of the simple, seamless
approach that Caveman offers if you don't remember to create
an alias for a particular utility. Programs for which you
forget to create an alias will run in their own window, and
may exit before you have a chance to view their output.
Caveman
The previous sections explain how to configure Take Command
and Caveman to best meet your needs. This section gives a
more detailed technical description of Caveman, how it is
installed, and what it does. If your system is configured and
working properly based on the information in the previous
sections, you can feel free to skip this section altogether,
or come back to it later when you want more detail.
Caveman is so named because it does all its work hidden in a
"cave" -- an invisible DOS session -- and is not directly
visible to you. Caveman creates the hidden DOS session for
you, captures screen output from your DOS programs, and
displays it in the Take Command window. It also accepts input
from the Take Command window and routes it back to the DOS
program.
Caveman consists of a Windows virtual device (VxD), stored in
the file CAVEMAN.386 and loaded when Windows starts. In order
to use Caveman you must have the following statement in the
[386Enh] section of the Windows SYSTEM.INI file:
device=d:\path\caveman.386
where "d:\path" refers to the drive and directory where Take
Command is stored. This statement is normally added to
SYSTEM.INI by the Take Command installation program; if
necessary, you can add it (or remove it) yourself with Windows
SysEdit, Notepad, or any other ASCII file editor (when you
edit SYSTEM.INI, you must restart Windows for your changes to
take effect). The position of this line within SYSTEM.INI is
not important as long as it is in the proper section.
Caveman can be used in Windows 3.1 and above (including
Windows for Workgroups). It will not work with IBM's WIN-
OS/2, because WIN-OS/2 does not currently support the use of
VxDs. Since OS/2 provides other methods for starting DOS
applications, this is not likely to be a problem.
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Virtual devices like CAVEMAN.386 can only be loaded when
Windows is running in 386 Enhanced mode. If you start Windows
in Standard mode, Caveman will not be loaded (even if you
include it in SYSTEM.INI).
A DOS application run from the Take Command prompt, either
directly or through an alias or batch file, will be started in
the invisible DOS session maintained by Caveman unless one of
the following conditions is met:
* you have a defined a .PIF file for the application; or
* you use the START command (without the /CM switch) to
start the application; or
* the application has been "marked" as one which
requires a separate DOS session; or
* Caveman is not selected as the default method for
running DOS programs; or
* Caveman is disabled or CAVEMAN.386 is not loaded.
If any of these conditions are met, the application will be
run in a separate DOS window, not under Caveman.
All output from an application run under Caveman will appear
in the Take Command window, and all input requested by the
program will be entered in that window.
Caveman works best with, and is intended for, "TTY-style"
programs which display simple, scrolling output -- for
example, programs like the DOS FORMAT and XCOPY utilities, or
the popular PKZIP and PKUNZIP file compression programs. In
most cases, this is the only type of program you should run
under Caveman -- other DOS applications should be started with
a .PIF file, or with an alias which invokes the START command
(see page 24), rather than trying to make them work under
Caveman.
Some programs which use popup windows and full-screen displays
do work under Caveman. For example, some DOS directory change
utilities will pop up a window with a list of directories if
you enter a partial directory name; otherwise they simply
change the directory and exit. Utilities like this, which
make limited use of popups or full-screen displays, typically
are compatible with Caveman.
More complex "full-screen" DOS programs which write large
amounts of data directly to video memory (for example, ASCII
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editors or file viewers) may work with Caveman, but their
performance will be limited, especially if they update the
screen frequently or in large blocks.
Programs which display graphics, modify the screen font or
perform other unusual video functions, access the keyboard or
other hardware directly, or use special or undocumented
methods of accessing memory, will not work at all with
Caveman.
Most memory-resident (TSR) programs also will not work
properly under Caveman. TSRs loaded before starting Windows
should not interfere with Caveman, but you should not attempt
to load new DOS TSRs from the Take Command prompt or via START
/CM.
Caveman does not provide access to the mouse for DOS programs,
and will always inform DOS programs that no mouse is
installed. If you have a DOS program which requires a mouse
it must be run in a separate DOS window.
Caveman does its best to detect incompatible programs. When
a program attempts an operation which can't be handled through
Caveman, Take Command will display an error dialog (see page
22 for more information). When an application is "marked" in
the error dialog as requiring a separate DOS session, its full
path and name are stored in the [DOSApps] section of TCMD.INI.
If the application is moved to a different drive and
directory, the "mark" will be lost and will have to be
recreated the next time the application is run.
If Take Command does hang or behave improperly when you start
a DOS application using Caveman, you can close it by double-
clicking the box on the upper left corner of the Take Command
window. To work around the problem, restart Take Command and
create a .PIF file or alias for the application as described
on page 24.
Take Command, DOS, and 4DOS
If you're a 4DOS user, many of the features in Take Command
will seem very familiar. Because the underlying command
processing in Take Command is based on 4DOS, you'll find the
features of 4DOS are readily accessible. All the commands and
switches you've used in 4DOS work the same way and have the
same meaning in Take Command; the only exceptions are those
that don't make sense in the Windows environment.
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Other 4DOS features are included in Take Command as well --
you'll find support for command line editing, command and
directory histories, aliases, .BTM files, and virtually all
the other 4DOS features you already know.
Even if you've never used 4DOS, you'll notice plenty of
familiar items in Take Command. Like 4DOS, Take Command is
compatible with the default DOS command processor
(COMMAND.COM), which you've probably used from the Windows
"MS-DOS Prompt" icon, or at the DOS prompt outside of Windows.
There are also a few differences between running under 4DOS
(or COMMAND.COM) and running under Take Command. The primary
differences are related to different methods for starting DOS
programs; this topic is covered in detail beginning on page
20. You should read the information there before changing
Take Command's default options for starting DOS programs.
The remainder of this section discusses a few other minor
differences in the way keystrokes are interpreted by 4DOS and
Take Command. It also explains some things to look for when
using 4DOS batch files and aliases (and COMMAND.COM batch
files) under Take Command.
In order to support the scrollback buffer, some Take Command
keystrokes are different from what you may be used to. In
particular Take Command uses Ctrl-Up and Ctrl-Down (rather
than Up and Down) to scroll through the command history at the
prompt, Ctrl-PgUp (rather than PgUp) to open the history
window, and F6 (rather than Ctrl-PgUp) to open the directory
history window. The arrow keys and PgUp and PgDn are then
used to access the scrollback buffer.
If you prefer to reverse this arrangement and use the arrow
and PgUp keys to access the command history (as they are used
in 4DOS), and the Ctrl- keys to access the scrollback buffer,
use the configuration dialogs (accessible from the Options
menu) to set the Swap Scrolling Keys option. See
SwapScrollKeys (in the TCMD.INI Configuration Directives in
the online help) for additional details.
Some command-line editing defaults have also been changed to
conform more closely to Windows conventions. In Take Command
the default editing mode is insert, not overtype, and the
default insert-mode cursor is a line, not a block. You can
change these defaults via the configuration dialogs or with
statements in TCMD.INI.
For complete details on all of the features listed above, see
the online help or your Reference Manual (Take Command for
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4DOS Users in the online help provides links to detailed
information on each of these topics).
Using Your Batch Files and Aliases
As a 4DOS user, you may want to use your 4DOS batch files and
aliases with Take Command. Or, you may want to run batch
files developed for COMMAND.COM under Take Command. In
general you can -- but you need to understand how the batch
files and aliases operate first.
Take Command and 4DOS aliases are separate and independent;
Take Command does not automatically "inherit" aliases from a
previously loaded copy of 4DOS, and it cannot pass aliases on
to a copy of 4DOS started from the Take Command prompt.
However, you can load aliases from your Take Command startup
batch file (see page 14). These can be the same aliases you
use in 4DOS, or a set that is just for Take Command.
While many of your 4DOS aliases will work well under Take
Command, you'll probably want to create a separate set of Take
Command aliases. This will allow you to account for the
differences in running DOS applications (described above and
below), and to create new aliases that take advantage of Take
Command features that are unavailable in 4DOS.
If you want to write aliases or batch files that are used in
both Take Command and 4DOS, but that behave differently in
each environment, use the %_DOS variable to make the
distinction. For example, this batch file fragment uses the
INPUT command to accept a string if it is run under 4DOS, but
uses the Windows-style QUERYBOX if it is run under Take
Command:
iff "%_dos" == "WIN" then
querybox "Enter your name: " %%name
else
input "Enter your name: " %%name
endiff
Aliases and batch files which simply manipulate files or use
other internal commands should work with little or no change
under Take Command. However, as a general rule, you should
test any batch file developed for 4DOS or COMMAND.COM before
assuming it will do exactly what you want under Take Command.
Pay particular attention to batch files which run complex
sequences of external programs.
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If you use aliases or batch files to perform a sequence which
mixes internal commands and DOS applications, the sequence may
not work the way you expect under Take Command. For example,
suppose you have an alias that changes the screen color,
starts a DOS application, and then resets the color again. If
the DOS application is started in a separate window the color
changes will not affect it -- a contingency you probably
didn't have to consider when you wrote the batch file.
Similarly, if you run a sequence of several DOS applications
which depend on each others' results (for example, through the
use of error levels), they may not run the same way under Take
Command that they do under 4DOS or COMMAND.COM. For example,
if one DOS application runs in its own window and another runs
under Caveman, error levels will not be passed between the
applications and your batch file or alias won't run the way
you expect.
You may also find that you want to take advantage of some of
the new features of Take Command to improve your batch files.
For example, the START command offers additional flexibility
in starting applications. MSGBOX and QUERYBOX can be used to
create Windows-style input prompts, and KEYSTACK and ACTIVATE
will help control your Windows applications.
Once you get used to these enhancements and minor differences
you'll find that you can use Take Command to manage your
system using the same techniques and features you are already
familiar with from your experience with 4DOS or COMMAND.COM.
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Index
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Index Command history keystrokes, 29
COMMAND.COM
and Take Command, 17, 28
4DOS batch files, 30
aliases, 30
and Take Command, 17, 28 Command-line editing, in 4DOS
keystroke differences, and Take Command, 29
29
batch files, 30 Commands
help on, 15
reference information, 3
Aliases, 30 Take Command startup, 13,
enhancing, 31 15
for DOS applications, 24,
25 Configuration, 8, 13
dialogs, 13, 18
Applications, DOS, 17, 20, 21
.aliases for, 24, 25 CTL3D, 7, 9
.PIF files for, 24
and START, 22, 24, 25 Customer Service, 3
input, 27
output, 21, 22, 27
starting in separate DDE, 19
window, 21, 25
starting under Caveman, 21, DOS applications, see
23, 26 Applications
Applications, Windows, 19 Drag and Drop, 19
Batch files, 30 File associations, 19
and Windows, 18
enhancing, 31
Help system, 2, 15
Batch files, startup, 15 /? option, 16
Caveman, 21, 23, 26 Icon, for Take Command, 12
and OS/2, 26
and Windows mode, 21, 27 .INI file, see TCMD.INI
compatibility, 22, 27
enabling and disabling, 23 Installation, 5
installing, 26 and SYSTEM.INI, 6
removing, 9 changes to your system, 6
manual, 6
Clipboard, 19 reversing, 8
Colors, of Take Command Keystrokes, in 4DOS and Take
windows, 19 Command, 29
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 33
Index
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Menus, 18 SYSTEM.INI
and installation, 6
MS-DOS Prompt, see COMMAND.COM changing the SHELL, 9, 20
installing Caveman, 9, 26
Options, see Startup Options
Take Command
and Windows, 17, 18
.PIF files, 24 as Windows shell, 9, 20
Windows-related features,
Program Manager 18
and Installation, 6
and uninstall, 9 TC16DLL, 9, 20
groups and applications, 18
replacing, 19, 20 TCEXIT, 12, 14
Take Command items, 7, 11
TCMD.INI, 8, 13
directives, on startup
Quick help, 16 command line, 13
editing, 14
location of, 12
Reference information, 3 sections, 14
Reference Manual, 2 TCSTART, 12, 14
and startup command, 13
Scrollback buffer, 18 Technical support, 3
keystrokes for, 29
Tool bar, 18
START command, and DOS
applications, 22, 24, 25
Uninstalling Take Command, 8
Starting DOS applications, see
Applications
Windows
Starting Take Command, 7, 11 and Take Command, 18
applications, 19
Startup clipboard, 19
commands, 11, 13, 15 colors, 19
options, 11, 12 command line, 17
//iniline, 13 file associations, 19
/C, 13 Take Command as shell, 20
@inifile, 12
Windows, Take Command, 11
Status bar, 18
Support, 3
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Copr. 1995 JP Software Inc. Take Command Intro./Install Guide 34